


[Meta] Whitewashing Baz Grimm-Pitch

by Sharing_a_room_with_an_open_fire



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell, Simon Snow & Related Fandoms
Genre: Book 1 Carry On Quotes, Carry On References, Conscious and Unconscious Bias, Gen, Meta, No Spoilers for Book 2: Wayward Son, Spoilers for Book 1: Carry On (Simon Snow), Whitewashing main characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:40:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28830546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharing_a_room_with_an_open_fire/pseuds/Sharing_a_room_with_an_open_fire
Summary: Yet another post about whitewashing Baz. This time I'm posting it on ao3 as well, so it won't disappear on Tumblr.Spoilers for Carry On, book 1 only. No spoilers for Wayward Son, book 2.
Comments: 20
Kudos: 47





	[Meta] Whitewashing Baz Grimm-Pitch

**Author's Note:**

> Dear reader, this isn't a heavy post.  
>   
> Just a friendly reminder of canon and also some information on what it entails to live in Europe while not looking “European”. 💙  
>   
> I should stop making these kind of posts, in theory I know this. I really _should_ stop.  
>   
> It's better for mental health. Because I obsess over how many people will decide to be awful.  
>   
> And well, we can all pretend how we don't care when people are awful to us. But that's rarely true.  
>   
> Very few people appropriate these kind of posts. I know this.  
>   
> But every time I see bigotry or bias, it unsettles me to the core, and I get this overwhelming need to say something.  
>   
> And I do believe that **staying silent is being a part of the problem**.
> 
> * * *

**Whitewashing Baz Grimm-Pitch**

In the Carry On fandom, quite a few people have gotten hate when pointing out that **Baz isn't white**. Which is important to point out. Very important. People suffer every day.

Some of us in this fandom who are from Europe and have “ethnic” features that aren't European have a very personal experience of being treated poorly because of that.

And yet, here we have a _**canonical main character**_ from Europe who has Non-European features and people are whitewashing said character. Do we not deserve representation? _**What is this? Why?**_

Those are _rhetorical questions_. Because I get it.

Media teaches us every day that white character is what is desired. So people form an _unconscious bias_. They try creating characters white. Because that's what the media tells us is the right thing to do.

But while doing this many forget:

**Baz was _never_ white in canon.**

I come with quotes from the book:

The sun is setting, and it’s making his grey skin look almost warm.

  
  


_(Carry On, Chapter 37, Agatha.)_  
  
---  
  
* * *

His skin is as grey as mine in this light, and shining like a pearl.

  
  


_(Carry On, Chapter 48, Baz.)_  
  
---  
  
* * *

They [the vampires at the vampire bar] just look rich. And … grey.

  
  


_(Carry On, Chapter 60, Simon.)_  
  
---  
  
* * *

A man with grey hair and skin, and a shimmering grey suit meets Baz’s eyes and nods towards the back of the room.

  
  


_(Carry On, Chapter 60, Simon.)_  
  
---  
  
* * *

Daphne bought me a grey suit for the holidays—but I’m stuck in grey every day at school, and I’m already grey enough.

  
  


_(Carry On, Chapter 67, Baz.)_  
  
---  
  
* * *

Here’s Baz before Turning:

My skin is the shocking thing: a stark reddish gold against my white collared shirt and white socks.

  
  


_(Carry On, Chapter 38, Baz.)_  
  
---  
  
* * *

And it's more than the colour of his skin. Here’s another quote:

Everyone says I favour my mother in appearance—we’re from the Egyptian branch of the Pitch family

  
  


_(Carry On, Chapter 67, Baz.)_  
  
---  
  
* * *

And let's not forget Simon commenting on _**Baz’s nose**_.

Which honestly I didn't appreciate the way Simon spoke. That's the nose many in my family have and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that nose.

_**It doesn't need to be yanked down.** _

In Europe (where Baz is from canonically), people with facial features that are Non-European are being discriminated against every day. (Consciously or unconsciously.)

Here’s the quote:

Baz has a long thin nose. The kind that starts too high on someone’s head and practically gets in the way of their eyebrows. Sometimes when I’m looking at him, I want to reach out and yank it down half an inch.

  
  


_(Carry On, chapter 42, Simon.)_  
  
---  
  
* * *

Here’s another quote that I myself forgot to add, but a helpful soul added upon reblogging my Tumblr post.

She [Mordelia] looks like his stepmother, dark-haired and pretty, but not like Baz and his mother—they’re drawn in bolder lines than this.

  
  


_(Carry On, Chapter 54, Simon.)_  
  
---  
  
* * *

**This is _actually_ canon. This isn't something us “ethnic” people dreamed up.**

Baz was _not_ white as human and Baz was _not_ white as a vampire.

Most people will not reblog this because they don't want to get personally attacked for stating something that is _**actually canon.**_ And some just prefer Baz as white, so if they reblog, they will say something nasty in the tags.

Because that is the experience other people in the CO fandom had while pointing out that **Baz isn't white**.

But I honestly don't care anymore. I made posts about this before. And I will probably keep doing that.

Someone needs to say this. Might as well be me. At least I'm not a _minor_ being attacked by _adults_. That happened. (Minors being attacked by adults on various topics in CO fandom happens frequently.)

I am not saying people should not draw or write Baz as a white character. What I am saying is that it's important to remember that he **isn't white canonically**. And possibly to tag accordingly.

 **TL, DR;** _Canonically_ Baz _isn’t_ white. Neither as a human, nor as a vampire. People get hate in CO fandom for pointing that out. But it needs to be pointed out.

Media tells us white characters are more desirable, so it makes sense that people form an unconscious bias.

However, a _**canonical main character**_ from Europe who has Non-European features means a lot to many of us who _usually lack representation_.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. 💙  
>   
> I‘ve written this meta with respect and care for people. I didn't call anyone names, neither have I chosen to be disrespectful to anyone.  
>   
> Please offer the same treatment in return wether you like or dislike this post. 💙


End file.
